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Her tongue severed, her body abused, a 2-year-old dog named Nala is learning what it feels like to actually be loved.
Believed to be an American Staffshire Terrier, Nala arrived covered in blood, underweight, scared and anxious last June at Companion Animal Specialty and Emergency Hospital in Crystal Lake.
Several surgeries and the support of animal lovers throughout McHenry County saved her.
She’s now being fostered in Woodstock through A & S Rescue as she awaits a new home.
“We’ll never know what actually happened to this poor dog. We just know something happened. This doesn’t just happen,” said Silvia Simmons of Cary, the founder and president of A & S Rescue.
The foster-based rescue organization has provided homes throughout northern Illinois for more than 2,000 dogs, most of them American Staffordshire and Pit Bull Terriers, since officially forming in 2000.
In that time, Simmons has seen plenty of animal cruelty – dogs set on fire, starved, beaten – but never a case like Nala’s. Along with 90 percent of her tongue, Nala had lost most of her teeth, with at least 19 crushed below the gum line. She had a large gash on the top of her head.
“Everything that’s happened to her, everything she’s suffered, everything she’s gone through, there is nobody she doesn’t love. … She’s just this wonderful dog. She’s just amazing,” Simmons said.
Nala, along with a six-month-old deaf dog named Faith and possibly other A & S Rescue animals, will be part of an event hosted by the organization from noon to 2 p.m. Jan. 12 at Thomas’ Tails, 31 E. Crystal Lake Ave., Crystal Lake.
Those interested in adoption or supporting the nonprofit A & S Rescue are invited to attend and meet the dogs.
The hope is to find a permanent home for Nala, ideally one in which a family member is home frequently. Because Nala requires hand-feeding and isn’t able to regulate her body temperature without a tongue, she needs to be monitored more than other dogs. She’d thrive with children and another dog, those who know her say.
Despite what she’s been through, she’s the ideal pet, said Kathy Burgin, who’s fostered Nala since October.
When Nala first arrived at Burgin’s home, she didn’t even know how to really play. Released in the back yard with toys, she’d simply stand there. She’s now formed a bond with Burgin’s pit bull, Diesel, and loves to be cuddled.
“She’s just a beautiful dog,” Burgin said, “just the sweetest thing you’d ever meet.”
Those who originally dropped Nala off at the animal hospital had several different stories on how the dog ended up in the condition she was in. The tongue, they said, was severed by a window, although those who’ve cared for Nala say the story is implausible.
It is believed she might have mangled her teeth trying to escape a locked room by gnawing at a door knob.
The dog was signed over to the rescue group immediately upon being dropped.
After surgeries on her mouth and surviving on a feeding tube for a couple weeks, a veterinary technician took Nala home to teach her how to eat and drink without a tongue. She uses her mouth as a scoop for water and can swallow small kibbles of food placed at the back of her throat.
Now healthy and weighing 60 pounds, Nala is well-trained and happy, Burgin said.
“At this point, she leads a pretty regular life,” said Simmons, crediting not only Burgin, but the veterinarians who took her case and Thomas Tails, which donated several months worth of food for Nala.
“We’ve got animals lovers in this area who really do go above and beyond,” she said.
Like all of the dogs she adopts out, Simmons aims to match Nala’s personality and needs with the right home.
A & S requires a thorough application process, including home visits, as well as obedience classes for all of its animals. Those who adopt must live no more than 90 minutes from Lake and McHenry counties. To cover the cost of care for the animals, adoption fees range from $150 to $350. For information, visit aandsrescue.com/.